The situation inside and outside Beijing City is truly heartbreaking! The Beijing city wall is three and a half zhang high and four zhang thick, with a flat road on top and many city gates on all sides. There are three layers of buildings on the city wall, facing the enemy structures in the distance, towering into the clouds; there are also many ancient cannons lined up on the city wall. This is the most solid city in the world. If the defenders are strong enough, even if ten times the enemy attacks, they may not necessarily take it. Unexpectedly, it couldn't hold up against the Allied forces after a few days of attack and was completely defeated. This was entirely caused by the hardliners, which is not surprising; it's a real tragedy for the common people!
Would you like to see what Beijing looks like now that it has fallen? The tall enemy structures have all been smashed and burned by the Allied forces, and the magnificent sights that stood for hundreds of years have been completely obliterated; only one or two old relics remain. The city inside and outside has been ravaged by war, with at least 70 to 80 percent of the markets devastated. Families are torn apart, looking disheveled, with looted belongings everywhere, and women being insulted.
What's even more infuriating is that this time the Allied forces entering Beijing are far less disciplined than before. Officers lead the looting, soldiers follow suit, blatantly robbing in broad daylight. We witnessed all of this firsthand. It is estimated that there is not a single wealthy official's residence in the capital that has not suffered from this disaster; this is definitely not an exaggeration. However, some court officials who had colluded with the Boxers faced retaliation and also suffered.
The looted items included gold, silver, jewelry, calligraphy, paintings, antiques, clothing, horses, vehicles, and other valuables. Whether it is soldiers or ordinary people, they have looted quite a lot. Because soldiers cannot take away so many things, even gold, silver, and jewelry are sold at a low price, allowing some savvy individuals to profit significantly. I saw a foreigner who bought more than a hundred pieces of three-fen coral beads for just one silver dollar. A silver dollar is the same as a Mexican silver dollar.
I heard a Chinese individual say that women in Beijing are afraid of being insulted. Many have taken their own lives in isolation. Those who haven't faced any misfortune can only display a foreign flag outside their door, shut the door tight, and struggle to get by. It's really pitiful! If they're unfortunate enough to run into robbing soldiers, they have no choice but to hand over all their money to save their lives.
On one hand, soldiers are robbing, and on the other hand, thieves are rampant. No one is paying attention on the streets. Those unemployed vagrants brazenly invade others' homes, stay and eat without permission, and refuse to leave. When they run out of rice and can’t find anywhere to buy more, occasionally, vendors carrying goods also get robbed by soldiers on the way. In short, during the day, Chinese people are afraid to walk the streets. I've witnessed their suffering firsthand.
When I arrived in Beijing, the Allied forces had set up a puppet government already. They imposed strict prohibitions against these chaotic situations. If they could truly enforce it, incidents like robbery should decrease; unfortunately, the ban was issued too late, and robberies and various atrocities have already inflicted significant losses.
Although the situation in Tianjin is dire, restoring it to its former state shouldn't be too difficult. However, the destruction Beijing has suffered this time is overwhelming. I can’t imagine how long it will take to restore it to its former state.
